1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of fire safety escape devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a type of fire escape device whereby a person may safely reach the ground by sliding down a rope that is suspended from a burning building.
2. Description of the Related Art
The frequent fire incidents occurring recently in this country and elsewhere in the world have claimed appreciable casualties. There were those who died of suffocation, by burning, even as a result of jumping to the ground from where they had been caught by a fire high up in a building. All of these deaths indicate the shortage of firefighting and rescuing facilities that exist in metropolitan areas all over the world. To make the situation worse, in a skyscraper access to and from a floor depends virtually entirely upon the elevators. Since a major fire will usually cut off the electricity to the elevators person on the upper floors will frequently be trapped in the building by the fire, and will have to rely on fire fighters or escape devices to save their lives.
In view of the foregoing problems, a proposal has been made to offer a so-called fire rescue device, which includes a brake mechanism wound by a rope. A subject fleeing the fire site is hooked to one end of the rope for descent in a slow and reasonably sure manner to the ground for survival, down from a particular floor in the building where the fire broke out. Such a fire rescue survival device, theoretically should have been a very ideal, safe and practical survival device, but regrettably this was not the case. A survey of the tenants residing in tall buildings will convince you that very few of them have equipped themselves with such a survival device. Why not? Apart from the price issue, these devices have many potential shortcomings including:
1. The speed reduction gearing in such prior art devices makes them too bulky, thus inhibiting a slow and secure descent. While adults can usually manage to use it all right, children can hardly benefit from such a devices. PA1 2. If fixed type braking elements or hydraulic damping mechanisms are used for the speed stabilization unit, the safety feature is inoperative once the braking elements are worn out. When hydraulic damping mechanisms are used, the descending speed will be out of control if there is a leak in the breaking circuit. PA1 3. The teeth of the pulleys used in such devices frequently slip with respect to the support cable, necessitating a coating of cotton over the cable in order to tighten up the engagement. As a result, the outer diameter of the cable was increased, approx. 8 mm or so, and the cable weight increased proportionately. For a tenant residing in the 20th floor or higher, the weight to be offset by the tensile strength of the rope in its entirety and the space needed to store the survival device as a whole was inordinately cumbersome, precluding its use by many persons. Furthermore, the cotton is flammable and may be worn away by friction. PA1 4. The necessity to hang the survival device straddling over the terrace or the wall on which the outermost window is installed, when it is used for rescue, further restricts and applicability of the device.